Cameron Donald to stand in for Plater at Suzuka Eight-Hours

Donald was the team's reserve rider at the Bol earlier this year
Picture: Honda Racing

Road race ace Cameron Donald will deputise for the injured Steve Plater in the Honda Legends team when they take part in the Suzuka Eight-Hours at the end of next month.

Plater broke his arm in a British Supersport crash at Thruxton and will not be fit in time to fly to Japan. Donald, who was the team’s reserve rider at the Bol d’Or, will join John McGuinness and Keith Amor for the classic endurance race.

"This has been a difficult decision but we talked to Steve at length and in the end, he and the team know that he is not going to be fit enough for Suzuka. Cameron is our official reserve rider so it makes perfect sense for him to stand in," said team boss Neil Tuxworth.

"We won’t be taking a reserve rider to Suzuka – all three will qualify and we will make a decision on which two riders will race after qualifying. If the conditions are hard we may even run a three-rider team. It’s a new circuit for all the riders and the extreme heat and humidity make it the toughest race of the year so let’s see how we go."